A Self-Reliant Reader
Ralph Waldo Emerson urged the population to be "self-reliant" readers. From his different works it is apparent to me that Emerson's definition of a self-reliant reader necessitates one to not just simply read and repeat his thought and ideas, but rather to ponder his positions and arguments, and then to apply them to their own life and experiences. Because Emerson truly wanted people to read in this manner, he created an equal relationship between the author and the reader. Emerson did not take an authoritative position in his pieces; his prose is scattered and oftentimes seems to parallel a tripped out conversation between scholars. His radical views on writing, speaking, and human interaction have made him a most important and influential literary figure. Emerson stated in his essay Self-Reliance that, "Our reading is mendicant and sycophantic" (Emerson 38). By this, he meant that the average reader did not evaluate and draw their own conclusions on what they had read. He feels that most people read the words on the page and accepts what is presented to them. I feel that Emerson purposely writes in such a way so that the reader must think about the meanings of every word. I feel that this is a very effective technique
Ten years later, in his fugitive slave speeches, Emerson depicts a much different picture of slavery, "A man who has taken the risk of being shot, or burned alive, or cast into the sea, or starved to death, or suffocated in a wooden box. Emerson's views of abolitionism grew and he realized that in order to be a true self-reliant individual, whether that is through the devices of reading, writing, or speaking, one must denounce the institution of slavery. The idea that reading was one of the main factors for his extreme desire to be free was described when he was sent away from his master in Baltimore and back into the country. After Douglass heard that conversation, he was not discouraged, but rather, he was a changed man. He dramatically changed the mood of the speech and began to describe the injustices that African Americans endure day in and day out at the hands of white slave owners. His spotty writing and randomness of thought was one of his approaches he used to illustrate to the reader of how to be a self-reliant thinker. Emerson would also consider Douglass a self-reliant person because he did not always conform to societies standards. This description does not describe any actual harsh realities of slavery and is about a figurative slave in another country. When Emerson wrote this entry, in 1865, the abolitionist movement in the North was gaining power and the idea of slaves being free was not too distant. He used reading not only as a teaching device, but also as inspiration for his independence. Douglass explained how the celebration of American independence is seen as a hypocritical debauchery that only reminded slaves of their physical entrapment. There he was worked and beat, just as he was in his adolescence. "If you give a nigger and inch, he will take an ell. Due to this depravity, exemplified by Douglass' personal narrative, Emerson assumed that most slaves would appreciate the opportunity to become literate and would not neglect the opportunity, and therefore be considered self-reliant readers.
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Acceptance Essays
